Hey all..
CrazyaboutF150 was nice enough to let me try out his old Jetchip, since he's using the superchip. I need some guidance for the "scraping of the leads" on the ford module. Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

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2000 2W F150 (Flareside Black ExCab) 5.4L (3.55LS) with K&N FIPK,Flowmaster Delta 40, Twin dual 3" pipes out the back, Stock Ford Sport 17" Rims

 

Clean desk, adjustable/bright light, magnifying glass, small brush is nice, small screwdriver. Use the screwdriver first on both sides; holding upside down and shaking/brushing occasionally. Use small piece of scotchbrite last. Do'nt rub until material is removed from contacts. Good Luck !!

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2000 F-150 XL, RC, LB, 5.4L, 4R70W, 3.55LS,
Class III tow, Payload #3, & Convenience pkgs.,
4-wheel disc/ABS, Chestnut/Parchment 40/60,
Ford bedliner w/Paintsaver & gas/wheel/spare locks,
K&N F.I.P.K. w/Outwears pre-filter, Superchip,
Dynomax ultra-flow welded 3" cat-back w/ 3" Y-pipe,
Hellwig front & rear anti-sway bars, Rancho RS 9000s,
Mobil 1, K&N oil filter.




[This message has been edited by max mitchell (edited 02-17-2001).]

 

Hi 5150,

Max gave some excellent suggestions, and some good guidelines.

What you'll want to remember is that the conformal coating that must be removed from the contacts is clear in color, and can be tricky to get it all off. We use a small straight-blade screwdriver, using not the edge or point of the blade, but the whole front surfacve of the blade, to "shave" and scrape this coating off each contact individually.

The first thing you want to do after removing the computer from the vehicle is to remove it's cover, so you can get good access to that connector, and then start your cleaning. The contacts have a protective tin coating over top of the actual copper contact underneath, so just remember that ideally, you do not want to scrape so far down that you expose the copper, just go slowly and lightly, and scrape until you don't see any more coating turning white and flaking off or rolling up into little "*****". If a little bit of copper is exposed by mistake, it's usually ok, unless the copper itself is scraped and thus scored & damaged, so just keep that in mind.

We also use Q-tips with a little bit of rubbing alcohol (no solvents!) to "dress" or clean the connector, both before we start scraping, during scraping to remove all the white residue from scraping the coating off, and once we're finished scraping, to make it look clean & neat.

Just take your time & be careful & you should be in good shape.

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll try to tackle that one this weekend.

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2000 2W F150 (Flareside Black ExCab) 5.4L (3.55LS) with K&N FIPK,Flowmaster Delta 40, Twin dual 3" pipes out the back, Stock Ford Sport 17" Rims

 

Hey Mike!

Not to be a smartass, but why don't you make the contact coating in some color so it's easier to see? I'm sure you've already thought of this, but I'm curious as to why you may have decided not to use it.

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* 2000 F-150 XLT Black FS; 5.4L
* 4x4 ORP
* 3.55 Limited Slip
* Stepups
* Sliding Rear Window
* 6-Way Power Seat
* Remote Keyless Entry
* Lund Trident Bug Shield
* Custom Exhaust
* Fumoto Oil Drain Plug Valve (a must for do-it-yourselfers!)
* Wise Bedrug

So many mods, so little cash! On the up side, no wife to create a filibuster.

 

Hi ragarm,

I believe this is the first time we've ever ben asked that specific question, excellent!

I think it's most likely because we have absolutely nothing to do with manufacturing the circuit boards in Ford computers.

The circuit boards in these (any many other electronics) Ford computers are sprayed over their entire surface area (yes, both sides, too, the entire surface area) with a silicone based clear-colored conformal coating where they are manufactured. We have absolutely nothing to do with any of that, and cannot influence the color of that coating. And if you stop to think about it for a minute, it's only practical to make it clear, so you can see all the rest of the components it covers; so it really must be "see-thru".

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer

[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 02-21-2001).]

 

Ok now you confused me Mike...
In my little world of analytical chem. isopropanol (rubber alcohol) is a solvent (actually water is considered the universal solvent) . Is the concern with solvents like, acetone, ethyl acetate, MTBE, dichloromethane, etc.. with dissolving the circuit board? I would rather just use a q-tip soaked in something that would dissolve the coating so I wouldn't have to use physical abrasition. Just paranoid I guess, it's only the trucks brains I'm playing with (Kinda like the new Hannibal movie).

But if what you laid out is the better to way to go, then that's what I'll go for.

By the way, what's the best way to remove the cpu from the truck so I can work on it at a workbench?

Thanks again for your ever-helpful input Mike.


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2000 2W F150 (Flareside Black ExCab) 5.4L (3.55LS) with K&N FIPK,Flowmaster Delta 40, Twin dual 3" pipes out the back, and Stock Ford Sport 17" Rims. Check out the site for spacers that I'm making. http://communities.msn.com/EnvironmentalDamageInc

 

5150
do yourself a favor & remove the battery and tray to access the connector. I'm sure Mike will show up later, but the little screwdriver scraping is the way to go. Get the pcb in direct sunlight or under a magnifier to see when you get the stuff off.

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97 Lariet-sc-4.6-4x off road-auto-3.55 LS-
superchip-K&N-3"
pvc air box mod-Granetelli MAF

 

Hi 5150,

You're absolutely right, technically water and isopropyl alcohol are solvents, but for our purposes here specifically, we don't consider them to be solvents, as they do not attack the PCB like other solvents do, which is indeed our concern. Some people have used things like brake cleaner, lacquer thinner, etc., to just instantly "melt" away the conformal coating, and in the "right hands" used exactly, that can certainly work; but more often than not it causes problems, so we don't recommend that.

Rubbing alcohol will not dissolve or melt the conformal coating; we use it on Q-tips to "dress" the connector, during and after scraping of the contacts, to clean it back up and make it look nice again, rather than using it to help get the coating off.

We'd rather see you use the manual abrasion method, commonly referred to around here as "Mike's screwdriver technique" rather than use PCB-corrosive solvents, but this is of course up to you, if you feel confident, go right ahead! We never do that ourselves here, and I've handled many solvents and could easily use it correctly without incident, we just never will do that, we insist on using the exact same techniques that we recommend to our customers, I just think that's the way to do business, for us.

The bottom line is, as long as that coating is removed without causing damage by whatever technique, that's all that really matters, so you do whatever you prefer.

To remove the computer from any 1997 & newer F-150 or F-250 Light Duty:

1.) Disconnect the battery; if you have the Offroad package you will also need to remove the battery and it's tray to gain access to the computer's wiring harness, or, use a long extension and a swivel-socket.

2.) Loosen the 10mm bolt head that is dead-center of the computer's wiring harness, which is behind the battery; the harness points straight into the firewall, and looks like it dead-ends, but that is actually the front of the computer it is attached to. This 10mm bolt remains integral to the harness, so it won't come out as you loosen that 10mm bolt head, the wiring harness will slowly back off the front of the computer until you can disconnect it.

3.) Go into the cabin to the right of the dash, and you will see the computer held to it's mounting bracket by a black pressure clip; simply remove this clip, and that allows you to pull the computer away and out of the cabin, this shouldn't take more than 3-5 minutes at most.

Good luck!

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer

 

Great....And thanks for the directions. Makes me feel a bit more confident in playing around in there. It's information and all around help that really makes this site great!!

Thanks again

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2000 2W F150 (Flareside Black ExCab) 5.4L (3.55LS) with K&N FIPK,Flowmaster Delta 40, Twin dual 3" pipes out the back, and Stock Ford Sport 17" Rims. Check out the site for spacers that I'm making. http://communities.msn.com/EnvironmentalDamageInc

 

Hi 5150,

I second that, it's a great site, the best for these trucks, bar none!

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer

 

I would strongly recommend that you make absolutely sure you have no static charge built up in/on you when you work on or open up the computer and handle it. If so you could fry it instantly. Make sure you constantly touch something that will ground you out to prevent charge buildup. Better yet if you have an ESD groud strap. Problems caused by static discharge may not always show up right away. It may be weeks or months before strange things happen. Believe me, I've seen it all to often.

ESD ground straps can probably be purchased at a Radio Shack for a few bucks. I'd say it would be worth it. I know I'll be using when when I put a chip in mine.

 

Thanks Irutt...I always keep one handy for swapping out RAM chips and such. Don't want any stray electrons cruising around in orbitals they don't belong in.

I'm going to attempt the install tomorrow. I'll let you all know how it goes.

I'll sacrifice a honda up to the Automotive gods at a stoplight tonight to get some good JuJu.

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2000 2W F150 (Flareside Black ExCab) 5.4L (3.55LS) with K&N FIPK,Flowmaster Delta 40, Twin dual 3" pipes out the back, and Stock Ford Sport 17" Rims. Check out the site for spacers that I'm making. http://communities.msn.com/EnvironmentalDamageInc

 

Hi Irutt,

Excellent point, thanks for posting!

We do not actually wear ground straps, but we are religious about grounding to bare metal to discharge any accumulated static electricity before picking up any piece of electrical gear.


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Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer

 

just to share my experience in cleaning the connector in my computer. i found that using the corner of a credit card worked best for me. i was able to scrape off all the coating and not have to worry about damaging the contacts. oh and by the way, no chip yet, just getting ready just in case the impulse kicks in.

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2000 Expedition 4.6 3.31 Rear
AIRAID Fipk with Poweraid Spacer
UltraFlow muffler
82 mm Mass Air Flow Sensor
6.8 inch TV with tuner/VCP
Full alarm and Auto-Start
Daytime Running Lights

New Addition:

2001 F150 Supercab 5.4L
3.55 LS
Airaid FIPK
82 mm MAF sensor billet aluminum
Full alarm and auto-start
50 series 3 chamber 3inch in/out Deltaflow Flowmaster
Swept Side style
Beltech 2 inch rear shackles

COMING SOON:
chip (maybe), wheels, pulley, billet grille.